Team 9 – CAN/AUS

About

Team 9 – CAN/AUS

This determined Canadian-Australian endurance team is ready to push their limits once again. The powerhouse adventure racing duo of Mitch Nissen and Hilary Bell are joined by Murray Macpherson, a strong swimmer turned ultra-endurance runner. With experienced navigator Brock Hawke providing strategic support, they form a resilient and well-rounded team. After a hard-fought third-place finish in OWR 2024, their journey is far from over. Driven by a relentless desire to grow, they are eager to take on the extreme challenge of One Water Race 2025.

Athletes of

Team 9 – CAN/AUS

– Why do you want to participate in One Water Race?

We are constantly seeking the next challenge that provides the environment for us to grow. One Water poses a unique set of challenges requiring endurance, teamwork, resilience, strategy and teamwork to be successful. We want to test our skills and be pushed to encourage growth. We love the outdoors and believe the natural environment needs to be preserved for current and future generations. We want to be a part of the One Water movement that encourages preservation of our precious natural resources and awareness of the water crisis; a global phenomenon with significant and unique impacts to every community. OWR 2023 challenged us in many unexpected ways. OWR 2024 was successful for our team in that we focussed on our performance, and did what we needed to do to get to the finish. We have reflected on these races and taken on board many lessons that will allow us to grow and perform in 2025.

– What would be your biggest challenge as a team?

We need to overcome unknown obstacles that could arise from extreme fatigue, cold, and unknown course routes. To do this requires us to overcome another challenge: establishing team synergy. We need to have the best strategy, route planning and decision making to win this race but we also need to execute. Next comes speed, from baby steps to long strides… we feel we are just starting to stretch out the gait.

– What are your goals if you would participate in One Water Race?

Our goal is to achieve perfect team cohesion and flow so that we can produce our best performance – that magic feeling where the whole team functions as a single organism with a common goal, where strengths and weaknesses are balanced to produce a top performance. Achieving this goal is the cornerstone to our secondary goals, to finish the course and to win.